green.ketzle.net: knitting

i wasn't about to let a month go by without a post, thereby ruining my perfect 72 month record. wow! that's 6 years, amazing...

now, on with july in retrospect!

so let's start with fireworks! hurrah! we went to downtown bellevue for the first time, and even though it was crowded it was still very nice and the small child oohed and aahed appropriately, as did her parents.

a few weeks ago, we went to emerald downs to see the horse races. we don't ever bet more than a few dollars but there are a lot of children's activities for sophie, and just watching the horses run is plenty of entertainment for jim and me. and as there is a lot of time between races, there is a lot of time for knitting, so, i started my second copper sock. i've been knitting a few rows here and there throughout the month and am currently turning its heel. hurrah for heels!

the small child is constantly asking "what can we do now?" and as we are tired of entertaining her, and not willing to let her park herself in front of the wii or computer for more than a half hour at a time or so, i decided it was time to teach her handwork. embroidery first, which she took to like a fish to water. actually, right this moment she is designing and stitching a new picture -- a cat. it is much more complicated than her number 1 heart shown here, but that was a great first attempt with very little supervision. hurrah for embroidery!

we tried knitting as well, hurrah!, but she is not so much feeling the knitty love. one row was all she was willing to suffer through, and that only when i cast on and off, but it is still her first piece of knitting and she's stashed it in her treasure box. i don't expect it to have any company for a few years...

i won a contest, hurrah! for lol captioning a picture of wendy's lucy. i chose the lovely asparagus cable sock pattern and have applied it to the previously started green toe. because the yarn is so dark, the cables are not highly visible which is working for me as cables and i are just becoming acquainted. i am slowly getting the hang of the no-cable-needle maneuver, but i don't think the cables are particularly crisp and clean as yet. by the time i actually master the technique, the socks will be done and i will be ready to knit the pattern again in a lighter color, thereby doing it true justice. i'm about halfway up the instep at the moment and try to knit at least one 4 row repeat a night. try being the operative word.

and i won a raffle! hurrah! from claudia's ms ride, i won this gorgeous skein of socks that rock from stephanie. i contribute to the ride every year, as i once had an ms scare and that alone was enough to propel me to action. no ms here, just herniated and disintegrating discs. i have high hopes for this skein -- it needs to overcome the tragedy of my first pair of str socks -- the ones in which giant holes appeared at first wash. it still makes me sad and i still haven't attempted a repair.

onward and upward! while unpiling various piles and emptying various bags, i relocated the first grade scarf. i had taken it on a business trip somewhere or other last year and it is perilously close to being done. i've stuck it in the bag with all the current projects so it should be getting necessary attention from me fairly soon. just in time for scarf season. hurrah! i still love these colors together so much. and still love this yarn. i have somewhere in the neighbourhood of ten or more skeins stashed to make shawls. it is to make me swoon with happiness and now that i can make the lace, they can be laced!

finally, in july knitting news, the mama's swallowtail shawl. i've just the last section to do and it is obvious i do not have enough yarn. i have another color of the dream in color baby that has some complimentary shades. i have some plain brown laceweight i could use doubled. but i am currently paralyzed with indecision about how to proceed. that must end because i want this done long before september 7th rolls around. it was such a quick knit to this place, i am still amazed. and i braved it without the lifelines this time; i've gotten much better at reading the knitting and recognizing problems and even fixing them from the wrong side. i love this pattern but think for the next shawl i'll need to branch out a little, to get some more lace knowledge. lace is good. hurrah for lace!

and that, my friends, was july. or at least the crafty part of it. there were also hikes and drives and drive-in movies. ice cream, farmers' markets and fresh fruit all the time. software certifications and reorganizations. plants growing on the porch, kid growing out of her clothes, and me growing happier and more content each day.

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